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| ▲ LG Twins starter Im Chan-kyu pitches against the SSG Landers during the bottom of the first inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, some 30 kilometers west of Seoul, on May 23, 2023. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ LG Twins starter Im Chan-kyu returns to the dugout after retiring the side in the bottom of the sixth inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game against the SSG Landers at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, some 30 kilometers west of Seoul, on May 23, 2023. (Yonhap) |
baseball-manager
Manager for KBO's best team picks unlikely ace as MVP for May
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, May 30 (Yonhap) -- Powered by top-notch performances from an unlikely ace and a slugging catcher, the LG Twins have surged to the top of the standings in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
And their manager Youm Kyoung-youb is having a hard time deciding who has been the Twins' most valuable player for May: starter Im Chan-kyu or his batterymate Park Dong-won.
Im, thrust into the No. 3 spot in the rotation after starting the season in the bullpen, has gone 4-0 with a 1.13 ERA this month, covering 24 innings. Park, in his first season as a Twin after signing as a free agent, leads the KBO with 13 home runs, nine of which have come this month. No other player in the league has reached double figures in home runs yet. The two will likely be nominated for the KBO's Player of the Month award for May.
"They have both been great. I can't really pick one over the other," Youm said Tuesday in a media scrum before hosting the Lotte Giants at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. "They've helped us stay afloat in moments when things could have gone awry."
Considering the Twins' record, Youm was selling his own team short. They are 15-5-1 (wins-losses-ties) this month, for the league-best winning percentage of .750. For the season, they are 30-16-1 and they lead the defending champions SSG Landers by one game in first place.
Youm said he would have to lean toward the pitcher rather than the catcher, if he had a vote.
"I think baseball starts with solid pitching and we go from there," Youm said. "If starting pitchers stumble out of the gate and give up runs early, it's hard for the bats to play catch-up. If pitchers can limit the damage, they can keep their team in the game and give the lineup a chance to put some runs on the board."
As for Im's unlikely resurgence -- the 30-year-old has had only one season with a sub-4.00 ERA -- Youm said the right-hander has been able to stay within himself.
"Whenever he gets to a certain number in fastball velocity during games, our pitching coach and I tell him to stop looking at the scoreboard to check the speed," Youm said. "We don't want him to throw hard all the time. And he has done a great job mixing in different secondary pitches.
"When he was struggling in the past, he would only throw fastballs and changeups," Youm said. "This year, he's added the curveball to the mix. And his fastballs and changeups play well off that breaking ball."
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